Wednesday, September 21, 2016

US lawmakers table bill to designate Pakistan a terrorist state

Two powerful American lawmakers have introduced a
bill in the US House of Representatives to designate Pakistan a state sponsor
of terrorism, saying it was time the US stopped paying the country for its
“betrayal”.

The ‘Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act (HR 6069)’ has
been moved by Republican Ted Poe and Democrat Dana Rohrabacher, who is a
ranking member of the influential Congressional Committee on Terrorism.

“It is time we stopped paying Pakistan for its betrayal and designate it
for what it is: a state sponsor of terrorism,” said Poe, chairman of the House
Subcommittee on Terrorism.

“Not only is Pakistan an untrustworthy ally, Islamabad has also aided
and abetted enemies of the US for years,” Poe said.

“From harboring Osama bin Laden to its cozy relationship with the
Haqqani network, there is more than enough evidence to determine whose side
Pakistan is on in the war on terror. And it’s not America’s,” he alleged.

Poe said the bill will require the Obama administration to formally
answer this question. The president must issue a report within 90 days of
passage detailing whether Pakistan has provided support for international
terrorism, he said.

“Thirty days after that, the secretary of state (John Kerry) must issue
a follow-up report containing either a determination that Pakistan is a state
sponsor of terrorism or a detailed justification to why Pakistan does not meet
the legal criteria for designation,” Poe said.

In a separate statement, Congressman Pete Olson supported every effort
to bring to justice the perpetrators of the terrorist attack on the Indian army
camp in Uri by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

“I strongly condemn this terrorist attack on an Indian army base in
Kashmir that resulted in the death of 18 Indian soldiers. India is a strong
partner and ally in peace,” he said, adding “I support every effort to find out
who committed this heinous act, so that the perpetrators are brought to
justice.”

Senator John Cornyn, co-chair of the Senate-India Caucus, tweeted a
story which said the Indian Army had suffered its biggest setback in a decade.
Indian-Americans continued to rally behind the call for designating Pakistan a
state sponsor of terrorism.

“Pakistan has been pursuing for almost 30 years the state-sponsored
terrorism as its strategic policy to further its sinister designs across its
borders. In the process, Pakistan became a cradle and epicenter of global
terrorism. At present, it is totally isolated in the global community and
turning into a rogue state,” said Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP)-USA.

“OFBJP-USA believes that the attack at Indian Army in Uri by Pakistanis
should not be termed as another incident of terrorism by infiltrators, but it
should be considered as an act of war by Pakistan against India. And India must
respond to teach a befitting lesson to Pakistan,” it said.

In the meantime, Pakistan rejected a US request to restrict
its nuclear program.

US secretary of state John Kerry, during his meeting with Pakistan Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif in New York, urged him to limit Pakistan’s atomic
program.

Sharif said that should be implemented by its neighbor India.

He told Kerry that more than 107 people have been “assassinated” in
Kashmir, thousands injured and “worst human rights violations are being
committed at the state level.”

Sharif has raised the Kashmir issue with almost every world leader he
has held talks with on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, but
his efforts to internationalize the dispute with India appeared to have gained
no traction.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made no reference to Kashmir in his
final speech to the United Nations General Assembly as the UN chief on Tuesday.